Mastodawn

Jul 21, 2023

@NanoBookReview @AbandonedAmerica @Saket What you're suggesting is basically to go and unprovoked assault someone's dog. Not only is this animal cruelty, it could significantly backfire legally, especially in the situation where the people are so well-connected.

Furthermore pepper spray or similar methods aren't a 100% guarantee that the dog won't react aggressively. Plus, *if* it works the dog will only be afraid of the person using the pepper spray and still be a threat to anyone else.

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Abandoned America Jul 21, 2023

@fringemagnet @NanoBookReview @Saket I mean if the dog attacks us we are basically in our rights to use whatever means are necessary to defend ourselves and I wouldn't feel bad about it at all. Even though this is the owners' faults. But just going and spraying the dog without some provocation? That would be bad for a number of reasons

@AbandonedAmerica @NanoBookReview @Saket Oh yeah, absolutely, self-defense is a whole different thing. I've fought an unleashed dog who had completely overwhelmed my elderly pup to get it off of him. If it's a matter of immediate danger and the safety of your pet against an aggressive animal it's an anything-goes thing.

But doing it unprovoked could mean a ton of legal trouble for you, especially since they could logically tie that to the incident, and it does nothing to guarantee your safety.

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Abandoned America Jul 21, 2023

@fringemagnet @NanoBookReview @Saket right. Plus doing it unprovoked is... just like a place I don't want to go as a human. Even if I feel in some ways it's justified at this point. It's just not who I want to be

@AbandonedAmerica Yeah, I'm totally with you. Besides, if you think about it, it's an animal, it doesn't really know what it's doing. And aggressive behaviour means at best that the owners don't do anything to stop it by addressing the issue with the help of a trainer, or worse they reinforce it. It's 100% on the owners and their irresponsibility. That said, nobody can blame you for the anger and frustration you feel right now, it's a horrible experience to go through.

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Abandoned America Jul 21, 2023

@fringemagnet they say they have a trainer but the trainer isn't materializing out of thin air to stop their dog attacking 😔

@AbandonedAmerica Yeah, plus any trainer worth their money would have probably told them to keep their dog leashed given it's capable of such damage. Like you said, that's a danger to any kid or small pet, even to the dog itself if it attacks another dog that can hold its own.

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Abandoned America Jul 21, 2023

@fringemagnet the owners say that it snuck out but I don't believe that given the circumstances. The husband is lazy and I am sure he just lets the dog out to go to the bathroom without leashing or supervision. He wasn't outside when it happened; how does a dog get out and you don't follow it outside?

@AbandonedAmerica Definitely sounds like an excuse. Beyond my own pets been doing volunteer work with animals for well over a decade now, and a dog being capable of causing such damage to another animal isn't something you just don't notice, and it's definitely not a dog you leave unsupervised. Sadly, "I had no idea/ this never happened before" is such a common excuse when it comes to irresponsible owners.

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MechanicalJedi

@fringemagnet @AbandonedAmerica I live in Seattle, where there are leash laws. Maybe 60% of the owners comply and my dogs have been charged and bitten several times now. As you say, every one of them says the same thing, "OMG they've never done this before!" Sometimes followed by "what were you doing? I've never seen them do this you must have been doing something". The something is always just walking by at a long distance because I already saw their dog was unleashed.